Wing and similar member of aircraft



F. H. PAGE.

WINGAND SIMILAR MEMBER OF AIRCRAFT.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 6.1920.

1558,666, I PatentedSept. 21, 1920.

3 SHEETSSHEET 1'.

F. H. PAGE. I WING AND SIMILAR MEMBER OF AIRCRAFT.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 6.1920

Patented Sept. 21, 1920.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

F. H. PAGE.

WING AND SIMILAR MEMBER OF AIRCRAFT.

APPLICATION FILED IULY 6,1920.

Patented Sept. 21, 1920.

3 SHEETSSHEET 3.

I ILII ATENT oFI-icE.

FREDERICK HANDLCEY PAGE, OF LONDON, ENGLAN'D, ASSIGNOR TO HANDLEY PAGELIMITED, OF LONDON, ENGLAND.

WING AND SIMILAR MEMBER OF AIRCRAFT.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Sept. 21, 1920.

Application filed July 6, 1920. Serial No. 394,148.

4 To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FREDERICK HANDLEY PAGE, a subject of the King ofGreat Britain, residing atLondon, England, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in the Wings and Similar Members of Aircraft, ofwhich the following is a specification.

In aeroplane flying machines, the object of the wings and similarmembers is to deflect the air through an angle so as to obtain thelifting force due to the change of momentum in the air, and it has beenfound by experience that athick or highly cambered wing has a largerlift per unit surface than a less cambered or thinner wing, but thehighly cambered wing has a disadvantage in that the resistance topassage through the air at small angles and at small values of the lift,is large.

Moreover it is already Known that when a wing is inclined at an angle tothe air I through which it passes or which acts against it, that thelift coefficient of such a wing increases with the increase of its angleup to a certain critical angle which varies between 12 and 25. Afterthis critical angle is passed the value of the lift co-efliveient of thewing decreases owing to an effect called a burbling taking place overthe forward portion of the upper surface of the wing; and owing to suchaction the air flowing over the forward portion of the upper surface ofthe wing no longer exerts its full suction effort, and this is due to adiscontinuity of flow between the live air stream and the wing producinga region of eddying air, which above has been termed a burbling, andwhich makes it impossible for the full effect of the air suction to beobtained.

Now the primary object of the present invention is to provide means or aconstruction whereby this burbling effect on the back or upper surfaceof the forward portion of a wing can be overcome, so that the same liftcan be obtained at slower speeds than is now possible even when the wingis inclined at a greater angle than heretofore to the air through whichit is driven.

For this purpose and according to this invention, the wings and similarmembers are constructed with a comparatively narrow through slot or,what is equivalent, a series of slots in line, near the nose or frontportion, said slot or series of slots extending substantially throughoutthe wing in a direction transverse to the direction of flight, in orderthat it or their influence may be exerted at all points of the wing.When the wing has such a slot, or series of slots formed integral in itsconstruction,

a portion of the said wing obviously forms the front wall of the slot orseries of slots, or equivalently such front portion of the said wing maybe constituted by a small auxiliary wing, either constructed integralwith the structure of the remaining rearward main portion, which latterwill be termed the main wing, or constructed separately and connectedthereto.

For the purposes of this specification it is therefore to be understoodthat the portion of'the main wing constituting the front wall of theslot or the small auxiliary wing above referred to, are alternativeexpressions, and such will be referred to hereafter as the auxiliarywing.

There have of course been numerous suggestions for aeroplaneconstruction comprising combinations of wings, arranged in someinstances superposed and others in tandem, and in some cases themultiple wings have been of similar, and in others of different,dimensions, but in no case have these wings been so designed as'to,bring about the objects of this invention, 2'. 6., that the forwardauxiliary wing shall so influence the main after wing as to enable thelatter wing to be used at greater angles of incidence than it couldotherwise have been, without burbling ensuing.

. In order to produce this result it is necessary that the auxiliarywing should be set at an angle relatively to the main wing so as to maskits leading portion without being in contact with it, by having the noseof the auxiliarywing at the approximate level .must be at a less angleof incidence than the auxiliary wing (or of the front face of the .chordof the main wing.' Thus if, for example, there is a difierence in angleof 30 between the cliord of the main wing and the .chord of theauxiliary wing, and the main wing happens to be at an angle of incidenceof 10, then the angle of incidence of the slot we mean a slot or'itsequivalent possesshighest point ing these features. I

lit is preferable to make the rearedge of the auxiliary wing (or theportion of the main wing forming the front wall of the slot) terminateat about the same height above the chord of the main wing as the of thecamber of such wing.

A win may according to this invention be constructed or fitted with aplurality of such auxiliary wings forwardly located, one auxiliary wingrearward of the other, and in such 'case it is preferable that the slotformed between the most forward auxiliary wing and the next rearwardauxiliary wing should be'of greater dimension in the direc- "tion ofmotion of the wing through the air,

than the next rearward slot, so that the most forward slot presents thelargest openings on the top and bottom surfaces of the wing and the mostrearward slot has the smallest openings.- A

In carying out the invention. the opening of each slot formed betweenthe auxiliary wing and the main wing] has its opening on the uppersurface of t e wing at a short distance rearward of its opening on theunder surface, and usually the dimension of the opening of a slot on,the under'surface of the wing in the direction of the line of flight ismade greater than the opening on the upper surface.

The walls of the slot or slots, considering a wing section, arepreferably curved rearwardly from the lower opening to the upperopening, it being a practical consideration in the construction that theair passing through the slot should be directed with a minimum possiblechange of direction from the under surface where there is pressure tothe upper surface where there is suction.

' We have found that by constructing the wing with one or a plurality ofslots as above stated, a greatly increased lift coellicient can heobtained by such a wing when inclined at considerable angles to the airthrough which it is driven. Bythis conthe nose of the auxiliary we speakherein of aauxiliary wing struction we are enabledto use a slightlycambered wing of the type possessing a high ratio of lift to drag and atthe same time secure the advantages of a highly cam bered Wing, say on amachine carrying heavyweights, without the disadvantages of such ahighly cambered wing which have been above stated.

The. invention further provides means whereby the slot or slots formedbetween the auxiliary wing or wings and the main wing can bemechanically wholly, or partially, opened or'closed preferably bythe-aviator while inflight, and this is particularly advantageous forapplication to a high performance machine, in which, owing to the normalhigh speed of landing, the great'advantage is obtained of being able toreduce the landing speed by opening the slots, the latter at other timesbeing closed.

are permanently open the resultant wing is suitable for use on a machinecarrying heavy weights, tion such a machine would have had a very highlycambered wing with its attendant disadvantages, the open slot or slots.enabling the wing to be at considerable an les, to the air through whichit passes an maintain the lift even when flying at slower speeds thanhas hitherto been possible.

-Where. it is desired to construct a wing so that the slot or slotsformed between the auxiliary wing or wings and the main wing shall becapable of being closed at will, the or wings can conveniently be madeso as to into contact with each other and with the rearward main wing,as by pivoting the auxiliary wing to the main wing, or equivalent meansmaybe adopted for efiecting closure of the slots when required, theinvention not being limited to the mechanical details of the means bywhich such closure may be efiected, but the means should be whereaspreviously to this -inven-.

be capable of being moved lllll such that the slots on both sides of thelongitudinal center line of the machine are actuated together.

The'invention will be further described I with reference to the examplesof construction shown on the accompanying drawings.

Figure 1 shows by a diagram view, a wing f section formed with a singlethrough slot comprised between a front portion or auxiliary wingand amain rearward portion or main wing, said slot extending in lengthtransversely of the direction of motion of the wing through the air, andFig. 2 is a similar view showing a plurality of such slots according tothis invention.

Figs. 3 to 7 show an example of construction of the invention in whichthe auxiliary wing is pivotally connected'to the main wing so that theslot aforesaid can be opened or.

closed, and also illustrates an example o in elevation showing thepivotally connected auxiliary wing in position when the through slot isclosed. Fig. 6 is a plan view of an aeroplane flying machine constructedwith the pivoted auxiliary wing as at Figs. 3 and 4, and Fig. 7illustrates a means by which the auxiliary-wing can be moved so that thethrough slot can be opened or closed at will by the aviator.

The diagram at Fig. 1 shows a wing section having a single through slot1 formed between the auxiliary wing 2 and the main wing 5, in whichlatter, 3 and 4 represent the spars, or what has been explained asequivalent, the wing section has the slot 1 formed between a frontportion 2 and a main rearward portion 5, and obviously the auxiliarywing 2 might be constructed integral with the main wing 5, or might beconstructed separately and suitably connected to the main wing 5.

The slot 1 so formed, is located near the nose or front portion of thewing section and extends in length substantially throughout the wing ina direction transversely of the line of flight.

The nose of the auxiliary wing 2 is located at the approximate level ofthe nose of the main wing 5 and also the auxiliary wing 2 is set at anangle of incidence less than the angle of incidence of the main wing, soas to mask the leading portion ofthe latter. The slot 1 is formed sothat the opening on the upper surface of the wing is at a short distancerearward of the opening .of the slot on the under surface, and the slot1 on the lower surface is greater in dimension in the direction of theline of flight than the same slot on the upper surface. 7

At Fig. 2 a wing section is shown having 'E'WO auxiliary wings 2, 2forming between themselves and with the main wing 5, two through slots1, 1 the slot 1. extending parallel with the slot 1 and the slot 1 is ofgreater dimension in the direction of the line of flight than the slot1*.

In order to fully explain an example of a means by which the inventioncan be carried into effect so far as regards the operation of openingand closing the slotor slots during flight by the aviator. theconstruction will be now referred to as shown at Figs. 3 to 7.

Referring more particularly to Figs. 3, 4 and 5. the auxiliary wing 2 iscarried by arms 7. the rearward ends of which may conreniently bepivoted upon substantially vertical pivots 8, carried from the forwardspar 3 of the main wing 5, while the forward ends of the arms 7 carry byapproximately vertical pivots 6 the auxiliary wing 2, and by" referenceto Fig. 4 it will be observed that when the arms 7, of which there are aplurality parallel to each other, are in line with the line of flight,the auxiliary wing 2 is distanced from the main wing 5, and the nose ofthe auxiliary wing is approximately at the level of the main wing andset at a less angle of incidence than that of the main wing; it willalso be observed that the slot 1 is produced which has its lower openingof a larger dimension in the direction of flight than its upper opening,and further that the lower opening is forward of the upper opening, andthe walls of the slot are curved rearwardly. It may be mentioned thatthe auxiliary wing 2 is slotted at 9, Fig. 4, and the front part of themain wing 5 is slotted at 10, Fig. 4, to permit of the angular movementof the-arms 7. It will be readily understood that by placing the arms 7at an angle asindicated by dotted lines at 11, Fig. 4, the auxiliarywing 2 will be closed upon the leading part of the main wing 5 as shownat Fig. 5, while when in the position shown at Figs. 3 and 4 the slot 1is open, the auxiliary wing 2 thus having adjustment relatively to themain wing after the manher of a parallel ruler.

Various constructions of means may be adopted whereby the aviator mayeffect the opening or closing of the slots, and in'the example shown atFigs. 6 and 7 as applied to the construction describedwith reference twoparts, which when moved to their clos ,ing position approach each otherat the central division.

Each bevel pinion 15 gears with a bevel pinion l6 fixed on a shaft 17,the upper and lower ends of which are in rigid connection with the arms7 of the auxiliary wing 2 adjacent to the longitudinal center line ofthe machine and form the vertical pivots of those particular arms 7.

- By this arrangement, considering a biplane machine as at Fig. 7, theauxiliary wings 2 of .both the upper main wing and the lower main wingwill be simultaneously operated and adjusted in position by the aviatorthrough the medium of the lever 12.

Obviously so as to. assure uniformity of motion betweenv the auxiliarywings 20f the upper and lower main wings, the arms 7 of wing and saidm'ain wing having its opend5 direction transversely the upper and lowermain wings may be connected at other points by vertical shafts indicatedat 18, Fig. 6.

What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patentis 1. In aeroplane flying machines wings and similar members eachconstructed .with a small forwardly located auxiliary wing, separatedfrom the main wingto .produce a comparatively narrow through slotextending substantially throughout the wing in a of the line of flight,

said auxiliary wing aving its nose located at the approximate level ofthe nose of the main wing and said auxiliary wing having .its angle ofincidence less than the angle'of said main wing, having its nose locatedat the approximate level of the nose ofthe main wing, and having itsupper rearward edge at approximately the same distance above the chordof the main win as the highest point of the camber of-sai main wing soas to mask the leading portion of said main wing.

3. In aeroplane flying machines; wings and similar members eachconstructed with a small forwardly located auxiliary wing separated fromthe main wing to produce a comparatively narrow through slot extendingsubstantially throughout the wing in a direction transversely of theline of flight, said slot formed between said auxiliary ing on the uppersurface of the wing at a short distance rearward of its Jopenin' on theunder surlane of the wing, said an 1 ia wing having its angle ofincidence less than the angle of incidence of said main wing,

having its nose located at the approximate level of the nose of the inwing, and having its upper rearward edge at approximately the samedistance above the chord of the main wing as the highest point of thecamber of said main wing so as to mask the leading portion of said mainwing.

t. In aeroplane flyingmachines; wings and similar members eachconstructed with a small-forwardly located auxiliary wing, separatedfrom the main wing to produce a comparativel narrow through slotextending substantially throughout the wi in ght,

a direction transversely of the line of said slot formed between saidauxiliary wing and said main wing having itsopenneeaeee ing on the uppersurface of said wing less in width in the direction of the line of fightthan its opening on the under side of said wing, said auxiliary winghaving its angle of incidence less than the angle of incidence of saidmain wing, having its nose located at the approximate level of the noseof the main wing, and having its upper rearward Ill edge atapproximately the same distance a above the chord of the main wing asthe highest point of the camber of said main wing so as to mask theleading portion of said main wing.

5. In aeroplane fl machines; wings 4 andsimilar members each constructedwith a small forwardl located auxiliary wing,

separated from t e main g to produce a comparatively narrow through slotextending substantially throughout the wing in a direction transverselyof the line of flight, the walls of said slot being curvedreerwardlyfrom the lower opening to the. upper opening to direct the airpassing through said slotwith a minimum possible and similar memberseach constructed with a plurality of small Iorwardly'located auxiliarywings, located one behind the other and separated from each other andfrom the main wing to produce a plurality of narrow through" slots lyingone behind the other, each slot exten g substantially throughout thewing in a direction trans- ;verselv of the line of flight, eachauxiliary wing located with its nose at the approate level of the noseof the main i and each auxiliary having its an e of incidence. lessthanthe ale oilinci ence of the 7. In aeroplane ll machines; wings andsimilar members each constructed with a plurality of small forwardlylocated auxiliary wings; located one hehind the other and separated fromeach other and from the main g to produce a plurality of' narrow throuh'slots situated one behind the other, the ot'formed hetween the mostforward aumiliary wing and-the next rearward auxiliary win being orgreater-dimension in the direction of motion of the wing through the airthan the next rearward slot so that the most forward slot presents thelargest gs on the top and hottem surfaces of the wing andthe mostrearward slot has the smallest openings, each slot ex tendingsubstantially throughout the wing in a direction transversely of theline of flight, each auxiliary wing being located with its nose at theapproximate level of the nose of the main wing, and each auxiliary winghaving its angle of incidence less than the angle of incidence of themain wing.

8. In aeroplane flying machines; wings and similar members eachconstructed with a small forwardly located auxiliary wing, separatedfrom the main wing to produce a comparatively narrow through slotextending substantially throughout the wing in a direction transverselyof the line of flight, said auxiliary wing having its nose located atthe approximate level of the nose of the main wing, and said auxiliarywing having its angle of incidence less than the angle of incidence ofthe main wing so as to mask the leading portion of said main wing, andmeans to mechanically, wholly or partially open or close said slot soformed between said auxiliary wing and said main wing.

9. In aeroplane flying machines; wings and similar members eachconstructed with a small forwardly located auxiliary wing, separatedfrom the main wing to produce a comparatively narrow through slotextending substantially throughout the wing in a. direction transverselyof the line of flight, said auxiliary wing having its nose located atthe approximate level of the nose of the main wing and said auxiliarywing having its angle of incidence less than the a small forwardlylocated auxiliary wing,

separated from the main wing to produce a comparatively narrow throughslot extending substantially throughout the wing in a directiontransversely of the line of flight, said auxiliary wing having its noselocated at the approximate level of the nose of the main wing, and saidauxiliary wing having its angle of incidence less than the angle ofincidence of the main wing so as to mask the leading portion of saidmain wing, pivoted links to pivotally connect said auxiliary wing tosaid main Wing so that said auxiliary wing can have parallel motion ofadjustment to or away from said main wing to wholly or partially open orclose said slot, and mechanism located adjacent to and operable by theaviator whereby said auxiliary wing can be adjusted relatively to saidmain wing to wholly or partially open or close said slot.

' In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of twowitnesses.

FREDERICK HANDLEY PAGE.

Witnesses:

JOHN WATT, Cm GRHTFITH BR WER.

